Countdown
by Fujisaki Chihiro
Summary: Unnamed dangers lurk around the Arbor Area tonight. If he doesn't act, by the time the countdown to midnight is over, Princess Snivy will have been dead. (PokéPark 2 fic, post-story, AU) (SnivyxOshawott)
1. Chapter 1

**~ Countdown ~**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_In which Oshawott gets a warning note_

* * *

"Mister Pawniard! Mister Pawniard!"

...The Steel-type froze upon hearing the breathless shouts. He turned around and glared. There was Tepig Pokabu of the Crag Area, bounding towards him. Behind him were three of his friends, Oshawott of the Beach Cove, Timburr of the Tech Area, and Arbor Area's own Princess Snivy. Oshawott and Timburr were lugging a cannon.

"What?" Pawniard snarled grumpily.

"Umm, I was wondering," Tepig said once he'd screeched to a stop, "If we could play with Darumaka's cannon in the Arbor Area. Timburr wanted to see the Arcane Area from the sky and-"

"No," Pawniard snapped. "Playing with cannons? That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. Besides, Queen Serperior just wouldn't allow it, I'm sure, and neither would Bisharp. Oh, and Princess..." He turned to the grass snake, "Lilligant and Leavanny were looking for you. They said you should get ready."

"Oh no," groaned Snivy. Since today was the day of the Arbor Area's annual Coming of Spring festival, she was supposed to get ready wearing her princess-y regalia for the party tonight. The festival was exactly like New Year's, but the Pokémon of the Arbor Area celebrated the coming of spring instead, when flowers began to bloom in abundance, making the area even more beautiful.

Snivy groaned again when she saw the queen's attendants hurrying towards them. "Oh help," she yelped and attempted to hide behind Timburr.

Too late. Lilligant and Leavanny had already seen her.

Lilligant, who was also once a tomboy, called, "Princess, please! We need to get you ready! I know how much you hate flowers on your head, but Her Majesty Queen Serperior has also been searching for you."

Eventually there was nothing the reluctant snake could do but let them herd her back to Verdant Court, but not before she asked her friends, "You guys are coming to the party tonight, right?"

"Of course!" Oshawott replied. "I wouldn't miss the free food for anything."

After they left, polite Tepig attempted to resume the conversation.

"Oh, that's a shame," he said, referring to their cannon idea. "I was hoping we could see the Serperior statue from the air. Well, no matter. Anyway, where were you going, Mister Pawniard?"

Pawniard scowled. "It's none of your business," he grumbled. "And make sure you get that hideous cannon out of the Arbor Area." Without even saying his farewell, he stormed off. "And don't call me Mister Pawniard!"

"I was only trying to be polite." Tepig rolled his eyes. "So what are we going to do now?"

"How about soccer at the Beach Cove?" Oshawott suggested.

"Yeah!" Timburr agreed.

"OK." Tepig nodded. "...After we return this cannon."

...

After a brief stop at the Crag Area, they went to the Beach Cove. There, they enjoyed a fun game of soccer right by the sea.

That was before the warning note.

Oshawott didn't know why he had happened to be looking past Samurott's lighthouse. He just did, and that was when he saw the note taped to its door which wasn't there the first time they'd arrived at the Beach Cove. Leaving Tepig and Timburr to chat with the Maractus dancers, he went and took it off the door.

It promptly made his fur stand on end, for it read:

⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ »̶✽«̶  
_OSHAWOTT MIJUMARU:_

_Unnamed dangers are surrounding the Arbor Area's Coming of Spring festival tonight._

_Only you can stop it._

_If you don't act, by the time the countdown to midnight is over, Princess Snivy will be **DEAD.**_

_P.S. The only souls whom you can tell about this are Tepig of the Crag Area, Timburr of the Tech Area, and Princess Snivy herself. If you tell anyone else, you and your two friends will be in unthinkable peril also._  
⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ ⌣»̶✽«̶ »̶✽«̶

* * *

⌣»̶✽«̶

As Oshawott, Tepig, and Timburr ran to the Arbor Area to warn Snivy, Oshawott wondered who had written the note, who was planning to murder Snivy. Of course, if Snivy was dead, Queen Serperior would be left without a heiress to inherit the throne. The note-writer could have been anyone who wanted to rule the Arbor Area.

There, they met Pawniard again.

"Pawniard, have you seen Snivy?" Oshawott demanded.

"No, she's still getting ready."

"We need to see her right now!"

Pawniard glared. "Is it really that important?"

"Yes," wheezed Tepig.

"It's a matter of life and death," Timburr added.

Pawniard blinked and frowned. Then he looked at the three with a calculating look as if wondering whether or not he should believe them. "Sounds mighty serious. Maybe you could go find her if you PROMISE not to disturb the-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because Oshawott had already dashed past him.

Finally, they saw the princess standing by herself grumbling.

"Snivy!" Oshawott shouted, clearly disturbing the party preparations. "We need to talk to you about something really important..."

And they told her all of it.

...

First, Snivy was wide-eyed and speechless. However, then she got as determined as she had been during the time of Darkrai's Wish Park scheme.

"What do we do to prevent it?" she asked, getting down to the strategy. "Of course, I'm positive I can take care of myself and don't need the help of you guys, but you ARE the receiver of the letter, Oshawott..."

"The simplest thing would be to have you near us at all times during the party tonight," Tepig said. "Especially during the countdown to midnight, so we can catch whoever tries to get to you before he can do anything."

Snivy glared. "Are you nuts? I can't stay with you all the time, especially during the countdown. That's like the most important part of the party. I'm not even sure you guys will be able to see me. I mean, I'm royalty."

"She's right," Oshawott fretted. "She's the princess of the Arbor Area. There must be somewhere she has to stand during the countdown."

"And I bet it'll be very crowded." Timburr frowned. "Even Conkeldurr is coming. Snivy's right, she may be up there in the front and us all the way at the back behind a sea of Pokémon..."

"Then what are we going to do?" Snivy murmured.

"What you're going to do is come with us."

There was a new voice, and then Snivy felt a pair of pincers on her shoulder.

... ...

Snivy was a Battle Girl. She wasn't the Princess Peach type who needs help from Mario every time she gets into trouble.

Vines shot out from her shoulders and coiled around the pincers. In one lightning motion, she twisted out of the grip and at the same time automatically twisted the would-be murderer's pincers also with her vines. The Pokémon let out a yelp of pain.

"...Leavanny?" Snivy stammered.

"Princess..." Leavanny moaned as Snivy let go of her pincers. "What did you do that for?" She massaged her twisted muscles.

"Sorry." Snivy's face reddened. "I thought you were... someone else."

Leavanny sighed. "All right, but let's get back to the business, shall we, Princess? Your accessories are ready to be worn. Lilligant and I will help you wear them."

"But...!" Snivy protested. "I'm having an important conversation with my friends right now! It's a matter of life and death!"

"And Her Majesty Queen Serperior also has an important party coming up, and it's a matter of life and death that you get all dressed up before the guests arrive."

"Lilligant." Snivy looked pleadingly at the Grass-type who had just arrived at the scene.

Lilligant, being the tomboy she had been in the past, was the queen's attendant who understood her most. However, this time, she shook her head.

"Sorry, Princess," she said. "Leavanny's right. You need to get ready."

She took the grass snake's hand and began to lead her back to Verdant Court. Snivy followed reluctantly while Leavanny brought up the rear, still holding her sore pincers.

Oshawott just stared.

Snivy was already getting all prettied up for the party... Her last one if they didn't know what they were going to do to protect her.

And they didn't.


	2. Chapter 2

**~ Countdown ~**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

_In which the party starts... and Oshawott finds himself rather weirdly starstruck by his usually annoying lady friend_

* * *

Oshawott, Tepig, and Timburr were just entering the Windmill Way when they saw a buzzing crowd standing by the river. Pokémon who were going away from it were shrugging, shaking their heads, or murmuring to one another.

"Something's happened," Tepig said. "And it's not even time for the party yet!"

"There's Zorua," Oshawott pointed out. "Let's ask him what happened."

"Hey, Zorua!"

Zorua turned when he heard Oshawott call his name. "Oh, hey, Oshawott! Hey Tepig, hey Timburr!"

"What's happening?" Oshawott asked.

Zorua shrugged. "It's very weird. It all started when Whimsicott saw Magikarp motionless in the water..."

Tepig gasped. "Oh no! Magikarp! Is he..."

"Fortunately, he only fainted," Zorua said. "It was weird, though. He fainted although he hadn't been in any battle. There was no scratch, no bruise, no anything; organs were also in good condition. He was A-OK, and then he suddenly went out. Just like that."

"Maybe he was tired or couldn't take the sun?" Timburr suggested. "A Pokémon once fainted in the Train Depot because the station was very crowded and it was very hot and dry."

Zorua shook his head. "No, the Arbor Area never gets crowded like the Train Depot. And it was cloudy this afternoon. And Magikarp had been perfectly fine before that."

"OK, that's weird," Timburr agreed.

"...But what's even more weird is this particular bit!" Zorua went on excitedly. "Magikarp recalled that just before he fainted, he'd been chatting with a pretty lady who sat on the river bank. When Whimsicott found him, the pretty lady was gone. No one in Windmill Way had seen her come and go... But then again, everyone had their own activities to concentrate on. For example, Bisharp and the Pawniard were having a practice drill."

"Oh... That's indeed weird," Oshawott murmured with a frown, his mind traveling to many possibilities.

"At least Magikarp's OK now, right?" Tepig said.

"Yep, he's now fine," Zorua said.

...

Leaving the crowd behind, the three friends went to a secluded spot in the Windmill Way (namely, atop the windmill) to work on a plan to protect Snivy.

OK. Tepig and Timburr were the ones who mostly did the plan-working-on - Oshawott was too occupied to join in the discussion.

"Hey Oshawott," Timburr's voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and when Oshawott finally focused on him, he saw that the Fighting-type was sneering.

"Uh... What?" Oshawott asked.

"What's with you? Still thinking about the pretty lady, weren't you?"

Oshawott surprised him by replying, "Actually, yes. Don't you think it's weird that Magikarp had happened to be chatting with this lady before he went out? Don't you think she's got something to do with Magikarp's weird sudden fainting?"

Timburr rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go again! Our investigator is thinking up conspiracy theories again."

"Hey! I'm being serious!" Oshawott exclaimed indignantly. "I still think it's weird."

"Well, I do too," Tepig said although Timburr thought he didn't mean it. "But it might have just been a coincidence, right? The important thing now is to make a plan on how we're going to keep Snivy safe."

Oshawott sighed. "Yeah, sorry." He shook his head. "All right, so what ideas have you come up with...?"

However, Oshawott would be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about the lady anymore, for she stuck with him in his head. (And it wasn't because she was pretty - in that case he already had someone else in mind.)

⌣»̶✽«̶

* * *

_Meanwhile, in Wish Park..._

Darkrai turned to face his three friends. They were Psychic-type Pokémon who looked like pretty ladies with black hair and white hairbows. Pretty Goth ladies, that is.

(However, only two of them were ladies, since the third was a male Pokémon. It wasn't that everyone knew, though.)

"So... What do you think, ladies?" Darkrai said, holding a leaf invitation in his hand. "Are you coming to the Coming of Spring festival in the Arbor Area? Queen Serperior invited us as well."

"Of course!" all three chorused. "The Coming of Spring festival sounds like a blast of a party! We're not missing it for anything..."

* * *

...

Back in PokéPark, the time of the party has finally come, but Oshawott and his friends were still unable to come up with a decent plan to keep Snivy safe.

"I... I think we should be going to the Verdant Court now," Tepig murmured. "It's almost time..."

"But we haven't thought up a plan yet!" Oshawott burst out.

"I know, I know," Tepig moaned. "What are we going to do?"

"The least thing we can do is be there early," Timburr reprimanded. "Standing around here and groaning isn't going to help anyone. We need to be there where Snivy needs us."

"Y-you're right," Oshawott said, his determination coming back. "We can't keep on complaining like this. Let's go to the Verdant Court, then!"

"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Timburr, and Oshawott grinned.

_Snivy needs us._

⌣»̶✽«̶

* * *

...

The second Oshawott saw Snivy in Verdant Court, he was instantly star-struck.

That was because she was wearing a wreath of baby pink flowers on her dainty head with fresh green leaves left cascading down her back. The wreath was adorned with shiny beads and little jewels so that it sparkled in the sunset. To Oshawott, she was the most beautiful Pokémon he had ever seen.

Snivy rolled her eyes when she caught him looking at her. "I look ridiculous, don't I," she said. "Stupid flowers."

"N-no, on the contrary, I think you look rather nice," Oshawott said quickly.

"Really?" Snivy smirked. "Thanks. That's what my mother said, too. Well, so here's the thing: I don't need to be at a certain place all throughout the party, but I have to get into position at the front with my mother before the countdown starts, and stay there until it ends. Do you guys have something planned out?"

"Umm..." Oshawott didn't like lying, but goodness knows what Snivy would say if he said they didn't. She could be annoying that way. "Um, of course."

"Great!" Snivy said with a grin. "And, let me remind you, Oshawott, that this wasn't actually necessary. I'm perfectly able to defend myself, really, but we're only doing what the letter asks, got it?"

"Of course." Oshawott rolled his eyes. Then Snivy went away.

"We _don't_ have anything planned out...!" Tepig exploded. He valued honesty very highly.

"Sorry," Oshawott said. "Snivy said that she could be with us before the countdown starts, so at least that means we have a little more time to think of a plan."

* * *

...

Maybe it was because of the party mood everyone was in, but whatever it was, Oshawott, Tepig, and Timburr failed yet again to think up a plan. By now, the party was in full swing, and it was nearing midnight.

"Look! I see Area Keeper Emboar, Tepig." Timburr was frequently distracted by the many famous Pokémon he saw at the party. "He's chatting with our cannon brother Darumaka. And Oshawott, there's Area Keeper Samurott! He's watching the Maractus sisters dance! It's not a surprise or anything, since they _are_ quite talented at dancing. Hey, guess what! I see Darkrai from Wish Park! He's the guy who turned good by saving Wish Park AND PokéPark in the end, right? He's with Gothitelle and Gothita. I guess they're his friends. That's Reuniclus the scientist, and... Gulp, there's Area Keeper Conkeldurr..."

"Hmm, what? Oh, yeah," Oshawott said distractedly, furtively sneaking glances around, hoping that he'd see someone doing something suspicious. Tepig was chatting with his good friend Victini, and Snivy was there also, talking to her friend Deerling. She was still here, but in a little while she was going to have to get into position.

It was because of one of those furtive glances that he saw Meowth selling multicolored balloons with long strings. A rather simple idea came to mind.

"Timburr, do you think if someone was holding one of those balloons on the far side of the court, we'd be able to see it from here despite all these Pokémon?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Timburr was a bit confused at the subject change, but he said, "I think so. I mean, those balloons have pretty long strings... What's up?"

"I'll tell you later," Oshawott said in a satisfied manner before walking towards Meowth.

"Hello, Oshawott!" Meowth greeted enthusiastically. "Would you like to buy a balloon?"

"Yes, please," Oshawott said, eyeing a bright red one. "How much is it?"

Meowth grinned a cat's grin. "Twenty acorns."

"What!" Oshawott exploded. "Twenty acorns for _a balloon?!_"

"That's right, these balloons are made of the highest quality rubber and the highest quality helium. And you did notice that I've used longer string on these, didn't you," Meowth said proudly. "So, would you like one or not?"

Oshawott sighed. "Ten acorns."

"I'm afraid I can't give you that."

"Fine. Fifteen."

"I'm sorry..."

Oshawott was about to reply when he heard Bisharp's commander voice loud and clear. "All right, Pokémon! It is almost midnight! It is almost time for our Coming of Spring Countdown!"

Oshawott groaned. "Fine! Twenty acorns!" He slapped the acorns into Meowth's paw, grabbed the red balloon, and sped back to his friends.

He saw Snivy waving to Deerling, Tepig, Timburr, and Victini, and starting to walk away.

"Snivy, wait!" he shouted. He shot past his confused friends and finally caught up with her just in time. He grabbed her hand to stop her.

Surprised, Snivy stopped and whirled around. "Oshawott? What's wrong?"

"H-here." The Sea Otter Pokémon thrust the string of the balloon into the princess' hands. "Hold this, OK? And make sure you don't let it go."

"All right, but what is it for?" Her face creased into a frown.

"It's so we'll always know where you are," Oshawott explained. "So we can help you if anything happens."

"O-oh..." Instead of the usual reply that she could take care of herself, Snivy smiled a small and not annoying smile. "Thank you, Oshawott. This is so thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome," Oshawott replied, and they were silent for a few seconds.

Eventually Snivy said, "I... I have to go. I need to go up front with my mother..."

"OK," said Oshawott.

"...which means you need to let go of my hand now." Snivy's sneer was back.

"Ohh!" Oshawott suddenly realized that he was still holding the grass snake's hand. "Sorry!" He quickly released it.

Snivy laughed teasingly. "See ya later!"

"See you," Oshawott said quietly, watching her until she got swallowed up by the crowd of Pokémon.

The only thing visible of her now was Meowth's red balloon.


	3. Chapter 3

**~ Countdown ~**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_In which the countdown starts and ends and weird things start happening right after_

* * *

"You know... I'm beginning to think that maybe it was all a trick."

Timburr leant back against a fallen tree stump while waiting for the countdown to start. Although they were behind a sea of Pokémon, and they could only see the red speck that was Snivy's balloon in the distance, they could at least see the sky clearly so they could watch the fireworks. "We've been on the lookout for anyone or anything suspicious, and until now, we haven't seen anything."

"Yeah, maybe it was a prank someone played on us. Maybe we should relax," Tepig agreed, rocking back on his heels.

Oshawott frowned. "...I don't think that's a good idea, Tepig. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Like Magikarp's weird fainting spell... And the mysterious pretty lady..."

Timburr laughed. "What is it with you and mysterious pretty ladies, Oshawott?"

"Nothing!" Oshawott protested. He was interrupted by the loud voice of Bisharp, "All right, Pokémon! Right now it is twenty seconds to midnight! We are going to start the countdown soon!" The announcement was followed by the excited murmur of the crowd.

After a pause, Timburr went on, "Speaking of that... Earlier this afternoon I saw Darkrai in this party with two pretty Goth ladies."

"Huh." At first Tepig didn't sound interested, but then he paused. "Wait. Two? I thought he had three pretty lady friends."

"Maybe the third gal didn't come to this party?" Timburr shrugged.

"Nope. She's here."

The three of them looked up to see Snivy's friend Deerling. She smiled sweetly. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about the Wish Park Pokémon. Nope, all of them are here - Darkrai and his three ladies."

"How do you know?"

"Well, every Pokémon is obliged to bring their invitations to be admitted into the party," Deerling explained. "We sent ten specifically addressed invitations to Wish Park: for Darkrai himself; his three lady friends; the four Attraction Masters Cofagrigus, Sigilyph, Chandelure, and Haxorus; and Reshiram and Zekrom. We have received all ten invitations back today, which means that all the Pokémon from Wish Park are here now."

"And yet..." Oshawott said carefully, his brain back in a whirl. "Timburr only saw two ladies with Darkrai..."

"That's right, Gothitelle and Gothita," Timburr confirmed.

"Which means... The other pretty lady, the one who isn't with Darkrai, the one whom we don't know what she's doing right now... is Gothorita!" Tepig gasped.

From the front, Bisharp announced, "OK! It is now eleven seconds to midnight! Let's start our countdown, Pokémon! On the count of TEN...!"

Oshawott turned urgently to Deerling. "Have you seen Gothorita anywhere, Deerling?"

"Sorry, no." Deerling shook her head.

NINE!

"...But I do!" Tepig exclaimed suddenly. "There she is - and she's walking to the spot where the queen and the princess are!"

"Follow her!" cried Oshawott.

EIGHT!

The seemingly never-ending sea of excited Pokémon stretched out in front of the three determined friends, but with Oshawott in the lead, they began to make their way as fast as they possibly could through the crowd. They had to reach Snivy before Gothorita did!

SEVEN!

"Sorry... Sorry!" Tepig murmured apologetically as he accidentally stepped on Pansage's foot. Meanwhile, the agitated Pokémon around him began to ripple with murmurs of, "Hey, quit pushing, will ya?" "Ow! That was my tail you stepped on!" and "Mommyyy! My foot hurts! Someone just stepped on it!"

"Hey!" A Stunfisk glared at Tepig, letting loose weak bolts of electricity. "That was my back you stepped on, klutz!"

And yet Tepig could only moan, "I'm sorry...!" as the countdown continued.

SIX!

"Ow! Watch where yer going."

Area Keeper Conkeldurr turned around to see Timburr's squared log poking into his back.

"Hey, it's you, Timburr! What happened? Yer usually careful with yer log. Or are you getting flimsy, huh? As construction workers, we must always have a steady hand, especially when we're carrying logs in a crowd of Pokémon. Look, can ye imagine what will happen if I don't handle these concrete stuff carefully, huh? Or if Gurdurr doesn't keep his steel bar from poking into the backs of the other Pokémon..."

"Yes, Conkeldurr, I understand, Conkeldurr. Sorry, Conkeldurr. Gotta go, Conkeldurr," Timburr said quickly, pushing past him, hoping that Conkeldurr was in a good enough mood that he wouldn't call him in for a lecturing after the party.

FIVE!

Oshawott was pushing on determinedly when someone tapped on his shoulder. That someone turned out to be Meowth.

"Hey, Oshawott? About that transaction we made earlier..."

"What? Sorry, can't stop. Urgent."

FOUR!

"No, this will only take a moment. You remember that the balloon I sold you is twenty acorns?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah."

"Well... That's the problem."

Although Oshawott tried to lose him in the crowd, Meowth just kept following.

"I told you the price was twenty acorns, yeah? And you only gave me nineteen acorns."

"Argh! Can't it wait, Meowth? It's just one acorn!"

"I'm afraid not. As my granddad always says, a transaction takes place right here, right now, and finishes right here, right now, you see."

"Later, Meowth!"

Oshawott squinted and saw that Gothorita was way up ahead. If he didn't hurry up, he was going to lose her in the crowd.

That was when he slammed into something that turned out to be the back of Gatekeeper Krookodile.

THREE!

In whichever direction Oshawott moved, the only thing he could see was Krookodile's backside, and there was no way to proceed.

"Argh... Why won't this brute move?!"

He turned and saw Timburr, who was also trying to get around Krookodile.

"Timburr! Do you see her?" Oshawott asked urgently.

Timburr squinted and exclaimed, "Oh yeah, I do! She's far away! ...oh. Now I don't."

"What do you mean, now you don't?!"

"She's gone," Timburr groaned. "We lost her!"

"Oh no we haven't!"

Oshawott and Timburr looked up to see Tepig flying just above their heads.

"Tepig's flying?!" they burst out.

"No, silly!" Tepig chuckled. "Victini's giving me a lift...!"

That was when they saw that Tepig wasn't hovering on his own, that Victini was holding onto his back while he flew him over the sea of Pokémon.

"All right, Tepig!" Timburr whooped. "Get 'er!"

TWO...

In front of the crowd, Snivy was so busy staring at the curious event of a flying Tepig that she failed to register that a Pokémon in the crowd was making a beeline for her.

ONE.

Someone grabbed her arm, hissing, "Gotcha!"

And Princess Snivy let go of the balloon.


	4. Chapter 4

**~ Countdown ~**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_In which different things happen in different places at the same time, and ultimately ends with the conclusion of the mystery_

* * *

Since Oshawott, Timburr, and Tepig were in different places at that moment, they saw different things.

Tepig suddenly saw Snivy walking alone to the exit of Verdant Court. She was OK, but she seemed to be about to leave the party.

Oshawott and Timburr had finally made it past Gatekeeper Krookodile before they heard a kid's voice cry out, "Hey! Look at that balloon in the sky!"

Horrified, Oshawott and Timburr looked up and saw a red balloon floating into the air.

Snivy let go of the balloon, was Oshawott's first thought.

Something's happened, was his second thought.

"Come on!" Timburr jolted him out of his thoughts by grabbing his hand and pulling him to the front of the crowd. If the crowd earlier was a sea of Pokémon, then now it was a sea of Pokémon in the middle of a storm. Since the countdown was over, everyone else was now cheering at the coming of spring.

At the front, they saw Queen Serperior chatting with Bisharp. She didn't seem to notice that her daughter had slipped away.

"I saw Snivy!" Tepig exclaimed breathlessly. "She was going to leave the party!"

"We have to catch up to her and see what's wrong," Oshawott said urgently. "Did you see where she went?"

"I think she set off in the direction for the Arcane Area," Tepig said. "I saw Gothorita..."

"THERE!" Timburr suddenly hissed. "You may have seen Gothorita, Tepig, but I'm seeing her right now!" He pointed at the Psychic-type trying to melt into the crowd.

"OK, you two go after Gothorita and catch her," Oshawott said with determination. "I'll go after Snivy!"

And they split up, Tepig and Timburr diving into the crowd again while Oshawott set off for the Arcane Area.

...

* * *

Timburr dreaded going back into the crowd, but it had to be done. Tepig was a trifle luckier than him, because Victini had reappeared and offered to give Tepig a lift again. That had left Timburr to go back into the crowd the hard way.

Everything was going well despite the fact that Timburr's foot had gotten stepped on too many times for him to count - or the fact that someone accidentally spilled berry juice on him - or the fact that he accidentally stepped on an agitated Stunfisk who gave him a mild electric shock - but he was in real trouble when he slammed into Area Keeper Conkeldurr, making him fall flat onto his backside.

"Timburr, you again!" Conkeldurr exclaimed. "I wasn't kidding when I said ye were getting flimsy. You've already bumped into me twice! It ain't acceptable for a construction worker to be clumsy - they must be precise and careful and-"

Oh, no, Timburr moaned, zoning out of Conkeldurr's words.

Meanwhile, from the sky, Tepig saw both Timburr and Gothorita. In the confusion in the middle of the crowd, Gothorita was instead straying to where Conkeldurr and Timburr were standing. Tepig was sure she didn't mean to, though - she was probably confused since there were so many Pokémon there. He had an advantage over the Psychic-type because he was chasing her from the sky.

"Victini, follow that Pokémon, please!" he exclaimed, pointing at Gothorita. Victini flew lower and zoomed just above the Pokémon's heads, chasing after Gothorita. The fugitive looked up and promptly saw that she was being chased, so she started to push through the crowd, creating a displeasing commotion. As she did so, she was involuntarily nearing Timburr and Conkeldurr.

Now to catch her!

As he zoomed right above Conkeldurr's head, Tepig heard that the area keeper was still reprimanding Timburr about the dangers of being flimsy when carrying squared logs in crowded places.

"Imagine the size of the bump ye could get when ye slam into one of those things," he said, nodding at Timburr's squared log.

And it was that exact sentence which gave Tepig an idea.

He just needed to time it right...

Tepig told Victini to hover just behind Timburr. He saw Gothorita get nearer. And nearer. She was almost there. She was right behind Timburr now. And...

"HEY TIMBURR!" he suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" Timburr whirled around with his squared log tucked under one arm. Of course, it swung around when he did so, and Gothorita was struck right in the forehead with a block made of heavy construction wood.

"STRIKE!" Tepig crowed as Victini lowered him to the ground. "You're out."

* * *

...

Meanwhile, Oshawott was running after Snivy into the flower-dotted meadows of the Arcane Area. Unlike Tepig who had an advantage over Gothorita, Oshawott was at a disadvantage because the grass snake was much faster than him.

"Snivy!" he shouted. "Snivy, wait! What's going on?!" But his calls all went unheeded.

Oshawott followed Snivy as she jumped onto several grassy plateaus until they were high above ground. OK, maybe Snivy was jumping, but Oshawott was actually holding on while desperately looking for footholds.

What's she going to do so high up? he thought as she jumped onto another plateau.

Once they had reached higher ground, Oshawott followed Snivy again. She was walking to the edge of the rocky plateau they were standing on high above ground...

Until Oshawott realized that it wasn't a rocky plateau - it was the Serperior statue they were standing on.

Snivy was walking towards the end of the snout of the Serperior statue.

"Snivy!" Oshawott yelled again as he ran after her. "What's going on?! What are you going to do...?"

But still Snivy didn't stop.

That was when it hit Oshawott.

Snivy wasn't going to stop.

For some unknown reason, she was going to keep walking until she fell off the Serperior statue. And even now, she was already at its edge.

"SNIVY!" Oshawott yelled, springing off in a full sprint.

The princess was only a few steps away from thin air.

Oshawott made a final lunge when she was only a step away. He grabbed her hand.

Snivy blinked...

...and was horrified when she saw that she was a good many meters above the ground.

⌣»̶✽«̶

* * *

...

In Verdant Court, the party went on.

However, eight Pokémon weren't partying. They were standing in the empty Windmill Way.

"All right." Queen Serperior glared at Gothorita, who was helpless in Bisharp's grip. "Do explain again why you were trying to murder my daughter in this party tonight?"

Gothorita grumbled, "Well, isn't it obvious? I wanted to rule the Arbor Area! Have you ever been to Wish Park? I don't plan to tell this to Darkrai, but I think Wish Park sucks. You never see sun or blue sky or anything there. I had to rule the Arbor Area. I decided to start with the princess first. So if you were out of the picture, there wouldn't be anyone to replace you and I'll have been able to come swooping in...!"

"Does that mean you were planning to harm the queen next?" Bisharp exploded, but quieted down when Serperior looked at him sternly.

"Well, technically, yeah," Gothorita said nonchalantly.

"How did you do it, anyway?" Timburr asked. "Oshawott said that Snivy was walking into the Arcane Area alone, as if she was doing it by her own free will!"

Gothorita snickered. "Well, think! Of course she wasn't doing it by her own will, she was simply in a trance! I had put her in a trance by grabbing her hand at the party, right after the countdown."

Oshawott looked dubious. "How did you do that? Is that even possible?"

"Of course it's possible," Gothorita snapped impatiently. "I've been practicing in Wish Park for a long time. First, you have to get the victim to concentrate first - that's why you have the countdown. See, the victim will pay full attention to the countdown, so it'll be easy to hypnotize her. In the princess' case, once the countdown was over, I grabbed her hand while at the same time using Psychic on her, shocking her mind into a trance. Then I told her to use Metronome on herself, to kill herself using whatever means available, and she happened to choose falling off a cliff..."

She quieted down when Serperior gave her a murderous look.

"What about Magikarp?" Tepig spoke up. "Did you have anything to do with his weird fainting, too?"

"Oh that, yes," Gothorita answered. "Magikarp was merely my practice field before targeting the princess. In his case, I simply used Confusion to get a milder result. That's why he only fainted, right? But in the princess' case, it was going to be like a big project. That's why I chose the Coming of Spring countdown - it'll be like everyone's indirectly counting down to her doom! But Magikarp doesn't have anything to do with this, so I only made him faint. I'm not a murderer that way."

"Oh no, you're not," Snivy sulked. "You're a would-be murderer."

"Well, I'm glad you kids did the right thing." Serperior turned to Oshawott, Tepig, and Timburr. "Thank you, for if it wasn't for you, my daughter wouldn't be here right now!"

Oshawott smiled. "You're welcome, Your Majesty," he said. "It was lucky Gothorita made the wrong move of writing us the warning note!"

Suddenly Gothorita, who had been sulking and listening with mild interest, jerked up. "Wait. What warning note?!"

"The one you taped on the door of Samurott's lighthouse, silly," Timburr said lightly. "If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have known anything funny was going on."

"BUT I DIDN'T WRITE ANY WARNING NOTES!" Gothorita protested. "I'm not THAT much of an idiot!"

"Oh, of course you're not," Timburr said. However, Oshawott, Snivy, and Tepig were actually looking at one another.

After scrutinizing her expression, they decided that Gothorita looked as if she really meant what she had just said.

So if Gothorita didn't write the note, who did?

* * *

...

Little did they know that a pair of eyes was watching them from the entrance of Windmill Way. It belonged to someone who had sneaked out of the party in Verdant Court.

Keeping hidden behind a tree and some shrubbery, Pawniard allowed himself a small smile.

Those kids may have weird ideas such as playing with cannons and calling me Mister Pawniard, he thought, but they always have what it takes to get the job done. He had to admit that he would rather warn them about Gothorita's plan, which he had overheard in Wish Park, than tell Bisharp. After all, if he had told Bisharp, he would probably have had told the whole army, and it would have caused a considerable uproar. That was the last thing he needed, because the uproar might have warned Gothorita so that she stepped up her guard. That was why he had even warned those kids not to tell anyone else, for fear that it would cause an unneeded uproar.

So it turned out that telling those kids was the right thing to do.

He melted more into the shadows when the eight Pokémon started to leave Windmill Way and go back into Verdant Court. Serperior and Bisharp were at the front with Gothorita still in Bisharp's grip. Tepig and Timburr followed behind them, still chattering about their misadventures trying to catch Gothorita in the crowd.

Meanwhile, Oshawott and Snivy were bringing up the rear.

The grass snake cleared her throat. "Umm, Oshawott. I just wanted to, you know, acknowledge the fact that you kept me from falling to my doom back then. So, uh, th-"

"What?"

"Tha- Thaa-"

By now, Oshawott seemed to understand what she was trying to say, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

"Say what? I can't hear you." He snickered.

The snake took a deep breath and finally blurted out, "Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank youu. There. I said it, OK?" She scowled and looked away. Her cheeks were red. "I said it, OK? You were a brave Pokémon to follow me to the top of the Serperior statue and foil Gothorita's plans. Like what my mother said, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. There. I said it."

"Uhh, y-yeah..." For some reason that made Pawniard want to chuckle, the sea otter Pokémon also lost his composure and blushed and stammered. It seemed as if he hadn't expected her to blurt out that much.

But then his "cool" act came back. "Well, 'course I had to do it. It's good manners to do nice things to a lady, isn't it?"

Snivy glared at him. Pawniard knew she hated being called a lady. "Don't toy with me," she snapped sternly. "I've said it once. Don't push your luck, Oshawott."

"Ha ha. If you say so. Can't argue with a lady." Oshawott sneered, but his cheeks were still rather red.

Snivy glared at him and punched his shoulder.

"Ow!"

~END~


End file.
